AP PSYCHOLOGY SPEED DATING ASSIGNMENT
Essential Question: Who were the major historical figures in Psychology and what was the
contribution of each?
Objective: Students will gain a better understanding of the contributions of key people to the
study of psychology by performing research and taking on the role of a psychologist in a speed
dating simulation.
Task: You are to research your randomly assigned psychologist using the guide below (#1). You
will then come to class on Friday, August 29, prepared to take on the role of the person you
researched. You will be asked to circulate around the room in a “speed dating” type simulation,
meeting one historical psychologist at a time for 3-4 minutes each. After the activity, we will
have a discussion and you will answer some closing questions.
Bring with you to class:
1. A notecard (or notecard size paper) with the essential information from your research. The
psychologist’s name, details of their research and/or importance, what school of thought
(cognitive, behaviorist, psychoanalytic) if appropriate, etc. Basically, its a cheat-sheet to ensure
you cover all the relevant information and correctly represent yourself.
2. A prop of some kind to represent your research. For example, Phil Zimbardo who did the
prison study (among many others) could bring a guy behind bars (made out of clay, a picture, a
drawing) For Pavlov a stuffed dog with a jingle bell, etc.... Be creative.
The psychologists who will be researched all had a hand in developing psychology as a
science. They are:
Mary Whiton Calkins
William James
Margaret Floy Washburn
Charles Darwin
Ivan Pavlov
John B. Watson
Dorothea Dix
Jean Piaget
Wilhelm Wundt
Sigmund Freud
Carl Rogers
G. Stanley Hall
B. F. Skinner
Stanley Milgram
Solomon Asch